Capping head



July 27; 1943.

CAPPING HEAD Filed March 17, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l 9 77,4' Z 27 27 zy 5i@ r l 2@ l E 2@ l i @a 60 I 6025 25 I /60 55 l 35 ,//60a l 6 57 53 lll-I i z' a? 57 35 I I, l 761 61 l 6:." 5 55 .1' :Ei 65 a 50- 50 51 n g852a ,y l 54:? L I 52 32 n 1:56 a l i E *Vg- V54 L 3 53 0 O L55 4 I 4.47. l i i -55 55 41 44 50 51 12 .ZZ 3153 a4 15 l! i l/ 3p je 15 7 5i ff' 51 6 1.4 6 10 11 INVENTOR Carl oaduin 10 oRNEY July 27, w43.. c. w.GOODWIN y CAPPING HEAD Filed March 17, 1941 2 Sheetsfshest 2 oRNEYPatented July 27, 1943 CAPPING- HEAD Carl W. Goodwin, Plalneld, N. J..assignor to American Seal-Kap Wilmington,

Corporation of Delaware, Del., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationMarch 17, 1941, Serial No. 383,752

3 Claims. (Ul. 226-86) The present invention relates to machines forfastening and sealing flexible skirted hood caps over the mouths ofcontainers such as milk bottles.

Qne object of the'present invention is to provide a new and improvedcontainer capping machine of the general type referred to.

Another object is to provide a capping head having new and improvedmeans for contracting the marginal skirt portion of a flexible hood capover the mouth of a bottle.

Another object is to provide a capping head having means for contractingthe skirt portion of a flexible hood cap around the head of a bottle andfor applying a high contracting pressure to parts thereof.

Another object is to provide a capping head having means 'for applyingcontracting pressure uniformly around the skirt portion of a flexiblehood cap irrespective of any slight 'irregularities in the position orshape of the bottle being capped.

Various other objects of the invention willbe apparent from thefollowing particular description and from an inspection of theaccompanying drawings, in which l Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a cappinghead embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the capping head taken on line 2-2 ofFig. l, and shown in initial position ready to receive a bottle for capsealing operations.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the capping head similar to that of Fig.2, but showing a'subsequent operating step in which the bottle has beenmoved into the field of operation of said head.

Fig. 4 is a horizontalsection taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the capping head similar to that of Fig.2, but on a larger scale, and shows said head during the final sealingoperation;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6 6' Fig. 7 is a horizontalsection takenV on line 'l-'I of Fig. 5, but on a larger scale; and

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of a bottle capped and sealedby thecapping head shown in Figs. 1-7. Y

The capping head of the present invention is designed to seal a hood capII onto a milk bottle I0 or other similar container having a centralbore 9, an internal closure receiving ledge 8, a

pouring lip 1 and an outer bead 6 around the bottle mouth. The hood capl I may be shaped from a circular blank of flexible sheet material suchas paper, having form sustaining rigidity to permit shaping. and may bepreformed in a manner disclosed and claimed in a copending applicationof Clark and Vore, Serial No. 366,218, for Bottle cap and method ofmaking the same. Said application discloses a preformed cap having adepressed, central, bore closing diaphragm I2, adapted to enter snuglyinto the mouth of the bottle Ill, and to seat on the internal ledge 8thereof, an annular pouring lip housing I3 of channel shapedcross-section adapted to extend over the pouring lip 1, and an outwardlyextending, uted skirt I4 adapted to be contracted around the bead 6.

'Ihehousing i3 is shown provided with inner and outer substantiallyparallel walls I5 anda top wall I6 bridging said parallel walls andhaving raised radial ribs I 1.

The skirt I4 is dished downwardly and is provided with pairs of creaseor fold lines I8 diverging radially outwardly from the pouring liphousing I3. The crease lines I8 of each pair are scored for folding inopposite directions, so that when the skirt I4 is contracted downwardlyand inwardly on the bottle, the surplus material of said skirt is foldedalong said crease lines into predetermined triangular pleats 20. A disc22 may be flxedly seated on the diaphragm I2 to bear the necessaryprinting, to reinforce said y diaphragm, and to exert seating pressureagainst the internal wall of the bottle. The cap may be coated in wholeor in part with -a suitable adhesive. such as a thermoplastic adhesiveor a solvent softening adhesive, or may carry a thermoplastic bindercapable of setting to form a rigid cap when cold.

The capping head embodying the present invention comprises a bell-shapedhousing 25, integral with or otherwise secured to the lower end of 'acrosshead 26, which may be secured in a handle for manual operation ormay be slidably mounted in the turret (not shown) of a standard cappingmachine and may be resiliently held by a spring 21 seated around a pin29 to permit' the capping head to rise as required during the cappingoperations.

A forming ring 30 having a downwardly ilaringopening 3| lto receive thebottle neck` with attached hood cap is secured to a ring frame 32 byanyI suitable. means, such as screws 33, and forms therewith a housingfor a plurality of clamping jaws 34, to be described. A disc plung er35. integral with or otherwise xed to the ring frame 32, is' formed witha lower cylindrical section 35, adapted to extend snugly into the mouthof the bottle for seating the diaphragm I2 of the cap II on the ledge 8of the bottle, and with an upper sleeve section 31 slidably embracing anarbor 38 which depends centrally from the housing 25 and is integral orotherwise rigid therewith. A radially outwardly extending flange 4I onthe sleeve 31 forms an abutment for the lower end of a coil spring 28encircling said sleeve and seated against the top wall of the housing25. A pin 42 secured diametrically Ato the sleeve 31 extends through avertically elongated guide slot 43 in the arbor 38 to limit the movementof the plunger 35.

Slidablyl seated on the forming ring 38 and disposed in the hollow ofthe ring frame 32 are the clamping jaws 34. These clamping jaws 34 aresegmental in shape, and conjointly form a ring encircling the cap skirtI4. The inner peripheral sections of these jaws 34 may be provided withteeth 45 to compress and concentrate the sealing pressure on thecorresponding por? tions of the overlapping layers of the cap pleats 20during sealing.

The clamping jaws 34 are relatively and independently slidable intopressing engagement with out by the reciprocating movement of the ringframe 32 in the housing 25. For that purpose there are provided aplurality of bell cranks 48, each pivotally supported on a pin 50between a corresponding pair of opposed brackets I which are 'integralor otherwise rigid with a ring 52 xedly seated in an annular recess 52ain the ring frame 32. One arm 53 of each crank 48 passes downwardlythrough openings in the rings 32 andl 52, and is bifurcated to looselyreceive a pin54 extending 'between a pair of upstanding parallelbrackets 55 integral or otherwise rigid with the corresponding clampingjaw 34. The other arm 58 of each crank 48 extends obliquely upwardly,and during certain phases of the sealing operation is engaged by aplunger 51, which is slidably mounted in the housing 25 and is urgedinto downward position by a spring 58 encircling a spindle 68 of saidplunger and seated in a recess 58a in said housing. The outer edges 6Iof the crank arms 5,6 are curved as shown to permit free slidingmovement of said edges along their respective plungers 51 as the ringframe 32 is moved upwardly. The housing 25 is provided with an annularflange 63 adapted to engage the arms 56 for retracting the same.

In capping operation the preformed hood cap I I is applied tothe head ofthe bottle I0 as shown in Fig. 2, with its pouring lip housing I3 inalignment with the pouring lip 1 of the bottle and with the diaphragmsection I2 in position to be seated on the internal ledge 8 of saidbottle. If this cap carries a thermoplastic binder or adhesive, the capis heated either before or after it is applied to the bottle head bysuitable means (not shown) to render the adhesive tacky or to soften thebinder preliminary to the sealing operation.

The bottle I0 with attached heated hood cap I I is moved axiallyupwardly through' the daring opening 3| of the forming ring 30 by anysuitable means or the entire capping head is depressed over the bottleuntil the lower section 35 of the plunger 35 extends into the depressedportion of the cap and seals the same on the internal ledge 8 as shownin Fig. 3. During this upward moveyment of the bottle with respect tothe capping head, the sealing jaws 34 are in their radially outwardposition. As the bottle is moved axially upwardly through the opening3|, the cap skirt I4 is contracted radially inwardly by the forming ring30 so that when the bottle reaches the position shown in Fig. 3, theskirt will have been contracted to extend about vertically downward andthe surplus material of said skirt will have been folded along thepredetermined fold lines I8 to form the triangular pleats 28.

As the bottle continues its upward movement, the ring frame 32 andplunger 35 are moved upwardly in the housing against the force of thespring 28, thereby causing the crank arms 56 to engage the plungers 51.The cranks 48 are thus rotated about their pivotal supports 50 by theforce of the springs 58 and cause the jaws 34 to slide radially inwardlytowards the cap skirt I4. 'Ihis relative upward movement of the plungeris continued until the sleeve 31 `engages'the wall of the housing 25, oruntil the jaws 34 have contracted the lower section of the cap skirt I4against the outer surface of the bottle as shown in Fig. 5, and haveexerted the necessary sealing pressure thereon to cause the overlappinglayers of the pleats or folds 20 to be adhesively secured together. Theteeth- -on the inner periphery of the sealing jaws 34 cause the pressureto be concentrated at the corresponding points of the,

` skirt and to crease the same as indicated by the lines 62 in Fig. 8.This concentration of pressure during sealing serves to more effectivelyseal the overlapping layers of said folds together.

' During this sealing operation the sealing pressure is limited to thatexerted by the springs 58.

Any additional pressure is taken up directly by the plunger 35 restingon the internal ledge 8 of the bottle. The force exerted by the plunger35 for sealing the cap in the bore of the bottle is determined by thespring 28 and is independ- 4ent of the contracting force exerted by theYsprings 58. If the bottle continues to rise after the sleeve 31 hasmade contact with the housing 25, the entire head is lifted against thepressure of the spring 21, thereby preventing breakage ofthe bottles.

When the sealing operation shown in Fig. 5 has been completed, thebottle is lowered, or the head raised, thereby lowering the ring frame32 in the housing 25 and releasing the pressure of the plungers 51 onthe arms 58. The arms 55 then engage the flange `63 which retracts thecranks 48 and jaws 34 totheir original position. The capped bottle shownin Fig. 8 is -then axially withdrawn from the head and another bottleinbottle being capped will not aect the sealing operation of said jaws.

While certain novel features of the invention have been shown anddescribed and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it will beunderstood that various omissions, substitutions and changes 2,325,1eoin the forms and details of the machine, process U and productillustrated may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the` spirit of the invention.V

What is claimed is:

1. A capping head for aflixing onto a bottle a hood cap having a centraldiaphragm and a marginal skirt to be folded around the outer surface ofthe bottle neck, comprising a housing, a central plunger slidablycarried in said housing and spring pressed downwardly, said plungerhaving a surface to engage the diaphragm of the cap and seat the same onsaid bottle, said plunger being movable upwardly into said housing inresponse to pressure exerted by the bottle, a frame rigidly secured tosaid plunger and movable therewith,

a pluralityA of clamping jaws circumferentially arranged to form anopening for receiving the marginal skirt, means mounting said jaws onsaid frame for movement toward the center of said opening for foldinginwardly and applying pressure to said skirt, an individual bell cranklever operatively connected to each of said ja-ws and pivotally carriedby said frame with an ear extending upwardly toward said housing, anindividual spring-pressed plunger mounted in said housing to engage theupwardly extending ear of each bell-crank lever, said individualplungers being constructed and arranged to actuate said bell cranklevers to shift said jaws inwardly in response to movement of said frametoward said housing produced by pressure exerted on said central plungerby the bottle, 'and stop lmeans associated with said central plunger andsaid y, housing respectively, said stop means cooperating to limit therelative upward movement of said central plunger and frame with respectto said housing'before said individual plungers have been fullyretracted, whereby said individual plungers remain in resilientengagement with said bell crank levers to cause each of said jaws toexert a predetermined maximum pressure on said skirt regardless ofvariations in contour of said skirt and resilient supporting means forsaid housing to permit upward movement of said housing and plunger as aunit in response to further pressure exerted against said centralplunger by said bottle.

2. In a capping head according to claim 1, a iiange carried by saidhousing in a position to engage the upwardly extending ears of said bellcrank levers to cause the same to retract said jaws in response .torelative separating movement of said frame and said housing,` wherebylthe skirt and bottle are automatically released when the bottle iswithdrawn from said capping head.

3. In a capping head according 'to claim 1, a skirt forming ring carriedby said frame below said jaws, said ring having an opening smaller thanthe iiared diameter of said skirt and arranged to fold said flared skirtdownwardly as the same is passed upwardly therethrough on the bottleneck.

CARL W. GOODWIN.

